Byzantine Iconoclasm

The Crusades were started as an attempt by Pope Urban II to regain Jerusalem from the Muslims in order for the Catholic Church to regain their Holy Land. In 1212, following the Fourth Crusade’s failure to acquire the Holy Land and only succeed in trashing Constantinople, another crusade began, but this crusade lacked the public support that the other crusades had. This crusade was the Children’s Crusade, the pilgrims of which were thousands of children of various ages. The crusade lacked real…

I’m here in 476 AD in what will be my final trip to Rome. Things are not well here in Rome. First of all Rome has split into two parts. East and West. I’m in the Western Roman Empire. I’ve asked people here what has led to Rome’s downfall and there are many different reasons why it has been whittled down as far as it has, but the question is if Western Rome can survive and try to rebuild the once great empire? One of the reasons that Rome has fallen is because of Barbarian tribes. Several…

start of the Crusades. The rapid expansion of Islam leading to the Holy War is one of the main causes. Western Europe is the main region where Christian concept took root and grew into Holy War. Even with the close measures of the Islamic Kingdoms, Byzantine Christians, never found value in waging or condoning war. Within a century of Constantine I’s rule, “[c]hristians in government found themselves faced with questions of life and death, war and peace” (Madden 2). But unlike Constantinople,…

When messengers from the Byzantine Emperor Alexius Comnenus asked the Christians in Europe to help protect his empire from the Turks, an assembly of churchmen called by Pope Urban II met at Clermont, France on 27th November 1095. The pope addressed the assembly and asked the warriors of Europe to liberate the Holy Land from the Muslims. The response of the assembly was overwhelmingly positive and the first of at least eight crusades was launched. For clarification, I am defining the word…

The Byzantine Empire also known as the Eastern Roman Empire was an extension of the Roman Empire, predominantly in the East. The Byzantine Empire was originally founded as Byzantium with its capital being Constantinople during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. The most common language spoken in Byzantine at the time was Greek. Justinian I was born in Illyria at Tauresium, and was the nephew of Justin I, the current emperor, before Justinian took over. He was the son of a Slavic peasant, and…

Ottoman state are often traced back to the achievements of Osman. With a series of military successes against the Byzantine, several leaders were attracted to come under Osman's leadership. With increased forces, Osman and his son Orhon were able to expand towards the Northwestern parts of the Anatolia. In 1326, Orhon was able to capture the city of Bursa under the hands of the Byzantine which he further made his capital of his emerging state. He founded a "madrasah" and even struck his own…

Italian culture and society underwent significant changes in the sixth century. Unlike Byzantium, which continued as a clear heir of the Roman Empire, conflicting influences on Italian life altered the imperial culture of the Italian region. Although the Gauls did absorb aspects of Roman imperial culture, such as the style of government and material and luxurious lifestyle, Gallic society remained fundamentally different from that of the Romans. The increased focus on monasticism, due to Italy…

Constantinople: for centuries the city served as a symbol for both the imperial might of the East Roman Empire and as a major center for Orthodox Christianity. The conquest of the city by the Ottoman Muslims in 1453 signaled an era of Muslim supremacy in the Balkan and Greek lands and the subsequent decline of Christianity in its hinterlands. As with any cataclysmic event in history, the fall of Constantinople and the consequences that followed are documented and presented differently in “The…

The Fall of Constantinople in 1453 was a significant turning point in history for both positive and negative reasons. Negatively, it was a dark attack that caused a religious shift from the dominant center of the Christian Orthodox church to the Islamic faith. It proved that the most heavily fortified and greatest city of its time, though defeating every enemy in the past, was still able to be conquered in less than two months. Lastly, it led to heavy casualties and the destruction of the…

The fall of the eastern Roman Empire gave rise to the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine Empire was created in 330 CE. At one point the Empire covered most of Europe and northern Africa. Constantinople was the capital of the Byzantine Empire and the only city that was left of the empire. Constantinople was a strong hold for Christianity in the Middle East and it was also the main trade out post connecting the Europe to India and China. In order to trade with Asia the Europeans had to travel…